Digestive Enzymes and more

One of the most often questions we are asked is how our products compare to other digestive enzyme supplements. With so many products available, comparing apples to apples using the labeling units can get very confusing! First, let me just tell you that when you buy enzymes, the weight (usually listed in mg.) means nothing when comparing the activity units of the enzymes. Quality enzyme products will use the standard FCC (Food Chemical Codex) units of measurement which establishes activity levels for the enzymes. But, there are even a few versions of these units so here’s a handy table to give you some approximate conversion factors.

Enzyme Name

Common Labeling Units

Conversion

Protease

HUT, USP, SAP

1 HUT = approx. 6.5 USP

Amylase

DU

1 DU = approx. 48 USP

Lipase

FIP, LU, FCCLU

1FIP = approx. 2.5 LU/FCCLU No conversion available to USP

I’m always stunned when I see major national retail chains with products that list enzymes only in milligrams (mg) as this truly doesn’t tell the buyer anything about the potency of the enzymes, but metric weight is all that is legally required by the FDA for enzyme supplements. So, when you are selecting an enzyme product, you want to be sure to choose one that lists more than just the mg. and also compare the units of activity to the price. One product may have a higher price, but when you truly compare the activity units you may need to take 3 or 4 capsules of one product to equal the enzyme activity in 1 capsule of a competitor product.

The enzyme activity of products should be measured and reported in FCC units. These unit measurements are usually expressed as follows:

When comparing enzyme products make sure measurements are listed using FCC standard codes. Some manufacturers make up their own abbreviations. Others use weights such as milligrams (mgs). Still others will list measurements based on dosage which may be more than one capsule.

Because of the variety of labeling formats used it is important to read carefully and make sure you are not comparing apples to oranges.

Another item to think about when choosing an enzyme product is “does the product contain fillers?” Many supplement products contain magnesium stearate, silica, rice bran, etc. to “fill-up” a standard sized capsule or to prevent caking or clumping. Enzyme Essentials tries to eliminate fillers whenever we can and all our capsules are sized for each product so we never need to add inactive ingredients to “fill” a capsule. Our philosophy is we don’t put ingredients you don’t need in our products.

There is no way to convert or compare pancreatin to lipase as they are 2 completely different enzyme products that work differently in your body. Pancreatin is made from ox or hog bile and lipase is plant based. And 200mg of an enzyme does not tell you about the activity units.

The enzyme activity of products should be measured and reported in FCC units. These unit measurements are usually expressed as follows:

Protease – HUT (Hemoglobin Unit Tyrosine base), USP

Amylase – DU (Alpha-amylase Dextrinizing units)

Lipase – FIP, LU, FCCLU

Cellulase – CU (Cellulase unit)

Invertase – IAU (Invertase Activity unit)

Lactase – LacU (Lactase unit)

Maltase – DP (degrees Diastatic power)

When comparing enzyme products make sure measurements are listed using FCC standard codes. Some manufacturers make up their own abbreviations. Others use weights such as milligrams (mgs). Still others will list measurements based on dosage which may be more than one capsule.

Most food comparisons are based on weight. With enzymes the key measurement is the unit of activity and potency. There is no direct relationship between weight and units of activity. So beware a product that lists enzymes only in mg. This doesn’t tell you the actual activity level of the enzymes.

The enzyme activity of products should be measured and reported in FCC units. These unit measurements are usually expressed as follows:

Protease – HUT (Hemoglobin Unit Tyrosine base), USP

Amylase – DU (Alpha-amylase Dextrinizing units)

Lipase – FIP, LU, FCCLU

Cellulase – CU (Cellulase unit)

Invertase – IAU (Invertase Activity unit)

Lactase – LacU (Lactase unit)

Maltase – DP (degrees Diastatic power)

When comparing enzyme products make sure measurements are listed using FCC standard codes. Some manufacturers make up their own abbreviations. Others use weights such as milligrams (mgs). Still others will list measurements based on dosage which may be more than one capsule.

What about comparing the potential effectiveness of an enzyme product capsule containing 300 GalU of Alpha-Galactosidase vs. a capsule containing a blend of 7 different enzymes, including Protease 12400 HUT down to Lactase 166 LacU?

There’s really no way to compare 1 type of enzyme to a blend. All the enzymes work on different substrates in your food (starch, dairy, protein, etc.) and so each has its own purpose. The best thing is to take a quality blend of enzymes with a meal and see if you notice the difference. Some products work better for others so we suggest finding a high quality brand with no fillers and trying it. Our Digest 90 and DigestZyme are both excellent choices.

All quality supplements should list the ingredients in the supplement box. Activity units can be measured in a lot of ways, so you may just need to convert some using this chart or others you find on the web.

I don’t think there is a difference between US and European units. The enzyme activity of products should be measured and reported in FCC units. These unit measurements are usually expressed as follows:

Protease – HUT (Hemoglobin Unit Tyrosine base), USP

Amylase – DU (Alpha-amylase Dextrinizing units)

Lipase – FIP, LU, FCCLU

Cellulase – CU (Cellulase unit)

Invertase – IAU (Invertase Activity unit)

Lactase – LacU (Lactase unit)

Maltase – DP (degrees Diastatic power)

When comparing enzyme products make sure measurements are listed using FCC standard codes. Some manufacturers make up their own abbreviations. Others use weights such as milligrams (mgs). Still others will list measurements based on dosage which may be more than one capsule.

Since the FCC regulates enzyme supplements, the issue is that manufacturers can list in a variety of measurements and it’s not as exact as a prescription drug. We list as PU (papain units), but others list as GDU (gelatin digestion units). I would just search on comparing PU to GDU and you will likely find a few sites that will give some conversion rates. Since we don’t use GDU then I don’t have a conversion for you. I’m sorry!

OK- here’s the golden question: how many FIP of lipase does it take to digest 1g of fat?
There must be a chart out there somewhere with info on how much enzymes it takes to digest X amount of the respective macronutrient, no?

Lipase does not work like that. It is a digestive enzyme and it digests the fat that you consume. There is no conversion for the amount of FIP it would take to digest a gram of fat. Enzymes are based on activity, the body uses them as it needs. The more activity the more times the body can use it for different things.

There are over 7000 FIP’s in our Digest and that is more than enough to provide the body with what it needs to digest the fat in a meal properly. If you are on a high fat diet, like keto, you may require 2 digest each time you eat. You need to listen to your body and how you are feeling. If you feel a little discomfort after a high fat meal, then you might try taking another Digest. Or you can combine Digest and LypoZyme to give a boost in lipase enzymes.

We can’t pin point it for each person because we don’t know how your gallbladder is working.

What is the difference of the measure FTU of digestive enzyme Phytase on supplement labels and other types of measures of other enzymes? As I understand this enzyme breaks down phytates in foods which block absorption of iodine, zinc, iron and other minerals and vitamins.

Correct. Each enzyme has its own activity unit associated with it. Protease is HUT, Lipase is FIP, etc. and so the activity unit for Phytase is FTU. So when comparing enzyme products, you want to compare the activity units and not milligrams. Our Digest product contains 42 FTU of Phytase. If you want to compare products, you need to look at this number in FTU to compare the activity level of the enzymes.

I can’t really comment on other products. You can use our table to convert formulas from USP but you want to use a product that works best for your body and digestive system. Both of these contain animal enzymes made from ox bile or hog bile while all of our products are plant-based and work throughout the entire digestive system.https://www.enzymeessentials.com/HTML/plant_enzyme_benefits.html

Hi, a client of mine just picked up a product with the enzyme activities listed in Ph Eur units. Is this unit of measure comparable to the standard USP. In South Africa we generally use the Standard International Unit. I know your products are not listed in Ph Eur but please could you answer from a pharmacological viewpoint

I have a supplement that posts all of its enzyme activity as FCC. It does not matter what enzyme they are talking about, all the activity is listed as FCC. Example: protease 20,000 FCC, Lipase 375 FCC, amylase 630 FCC. It makes it confusing! Is this the same as HUT? Thanks for any info. By the way your enzymes look amazing. Will try!

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For over 15 years, Enzyme Essentials has been a leader in providing the most effective digestive enzyme supplements to customers world-wide. Our clinically proven products support complete digestion to help maximize nutrition and alleviate common digestive discomforts. We hope our blog provides you with a wealth of healthy digestion tips and articles!